


A Little Jailbreak with the Little Jailbait

by wandering_gypsy_feet



Category: The Walking Dead & Related Fandoms, The Walking Dead (TV)
Genre: F/M, I JUST WANT A BETH AND MERLE FRIENDSHIP, I JUST WANT TO SEE BETH WITH THE DIXON BROTHERS, i am a simple woman, matchmaker merle
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-17
Updated: 2021-01-17
Packaged: 2021-03-18 21:34:41
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,144
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28624935
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/wandering_gypsy_feet/pseuds/wandering_gypsy_feet
Summary: When Daryl Dixon got both Beth Greene and Merle Dixon back, it turned out not to quite be the blessing he'd imagined it.At least, not at first.An oneshot AU where Merle ends up at Grady with Beth.
Relationships: Daryl Dixon/Beth Greene
Comments: 39
Kudos: 121





	A Little Jailbreak with the Little Jailbait

**Author's Note:**

> i am a simple woman
> 
> i see trash older men and i fall in love with them (I KNOW MERLE IS SO PROBLEMATIC BUT LET HIM HAVE A REDEMPTION ARCH I DEMAND MORE MICHAEL ROOKER)
> 
> this is based on the idea that maybe merle didn't get killed but only wounded and then got dragged to grady where he was content to do weird shit while being taken care of again idk i needed it to work okay? i just really wanted to write merle cause i love him

"Well, lookie here, if it ain't my baby brother!"

Merle's voice was grating enough in the best of times. But when Daryl's nerves were already shot and rubbed raw from Beth's disappearance and the subsequent nightmare that was Terminus, he really didn't have any grace left for Merle causing havoc in his head. 

He scrunched his eyes tight. He tried to block it out. But when he opened them again, Merle was still standing there, just outside the firelight, arms spread wide and grinning at him. Daryl was so caught up in looking at his brother that he almost missed what was beside him; a new figure who was small, garbed in mismatched clothes, with blonde hair in a nice, long plait down her back, and big blue eyes lit up by the fire. 

Daryl knew exactly what those eyes looked like, sparkling with bonfire flames in them. Daryl would never forget something like that, not for as long as he lived. Beth Greene being a pyro was not something he'd ever anticipated, but he would be damned if he didn't like it. 

"Daryl," she said softly, stepping forward. Merle's grin somehow, impossibly, widened. 

"Don't mind me," Merle muttered, voice carrying a little bit too loudly. "Just his long lost big brother, but of course he's only got eyes for sparkle tits over here." 

That settled it. Hallucination or not, real or not, figment of his imagination or not, Daryl wasn't going to let Merle talk like that to Beth. So he crossed the gap between them, knowing he was going to be swinging on air, knowing this was all in his head but not being able to stop himself. Except Beth was already turning to Merle with a frown on her pretty little face and then she smacked him upside the head in a movement too smooth to be anything less than practiced. 

"Merle!" she chided and then Daryl made it to them and sent his fist flying, only to shockingly have it connect with the resoundingly hard skull of his big brother. Merle staggered, giving a grunt of pain, and Daryl's knuckles hurt like a son of a bitch, which is how he knew it was real. He gaped at Merle, only to have two small hands on his chest, pushing him back with an affronted, "Daryl!" 

"Aw, don't worry little lady, that's just the Dixon family hello," Merle grunted, rubbing his jaw. 

"Why are you punching your brother?" Beth demanded of him, glancing back at Merle. 

"Shit, you thought he was gonna be happy about me coming back?" Merle spat a gob of blood on the ground. "Nah. He don't love me like that. You though?" 

"Quit it." Beth's hand flicked out again, quick as a flash, to whack Merle's shoulder. Then she turned back to Daryl, concern written across her face. "Daryl? Are you okay?" 

No. He was not fucking okay. 

It would be one thing to get Beth back. It would be a whole other thing to get Merle back. But both of them, together, at once? Here? Now? After everything, after every single fucking thing that had happened, them standing here in front of him, acting like they're somehow best pals? 

"What." his voice shook, despite every effort for it not to. "The fuck?" 

"Don't," Beth warned Merle, without taking her eyes off Daryl. Merle's mouth slowly shut and Beth gently touched Daryl's elbow, like she wasn't sure if he was going to swing again. Daryl stared at her, at the fresh scar across her cheek and he felt the rage bubbling up in him, escaping him in the form of a growl. Did Merle do that? 

"Woke up one day to her standing over me in that hospital," Merle muttered. "Hands on her hips, asking me 'bout when we're busting out. Told her no, told her I had a real good thing going on, but she didn't fucking listen." 

"Oh, so doing dead body duty and scrubbing toilets, that's the end for the great Merle Dixon?" Beth retorted and Daryl suddenly sat down heavily. This was too much. This was all too much. What the fuck? 

"Yeah." Merle rolled his eyes. "Said she wanted to get back to you. So I decided, a little jailbreak with the little jailbait? What's not to love about that?" 

"The people who took me," Beth explained to Daryl, still aiming swats behind her without looking even though Merle had long ago moved out of her reach. "They brought me to the hospital. Said they were rounding up survivors. Helping them out. Merle was there. I decided we were going to get out." 

"He... Helped you?" Daryl asked her in disbelief. Because as long as he had been alive, Merle was not just going to help someone out of the goodness of his heart. He didn't have any goodness in his heart. 

"Helped being a relative term." Beth's mouth twitched like she wanted to smile. "We managed to get out, and I got us back to the general area I knew we'd been in. Merle helped track you guys from there." 

"Left some pretty obvious boot prints, you idiot," Merle taunted him. 

Yeah, almost like obvious enough prints that someone who was a novice tracker with a few lessons under her belt could follow. 

"He..." Daryl didn't have the words; he could only point at the still healing red line on her cheek and then Merle snarled behind Beth, stepping forward even though her arm flew out to stop him. 

"Hell you think I am, huh!" 

"Merle." Beth looked over her shoulder, exasperated. "Shut the hell up. He doesn't know." 

"Think I'd fucking hit a kid, huh?" Merle snapped at him and Beth turned for the first time, facing Merle instead of Daryl. 

"Hey! Quit!" she hissed at Merle, pushing him in the chest. Daryl stumbled back onto his feet because no one could touch Merle like that, not without getting hit, but his brother just took it, looking at Beth. "Remember what I said, huh? Remember? He doesn't know. We have to tell him. So shut. The hell. Up!" 

And to Daryl's endless shock, he did. For the first time in his natural born life, Merle did what someone else told him and shut the hell up. He just looked at Beth, who looked at him with a steely gaze until he dipped his head, a tiny acquiescence to her. And then Beth nodded and turned back to Daryl with a little smile on her face and he suddenly felt a little sick. 

He thought he'd been special. That it had meant something. That they'd been something, out there in the woods. He thought he was special, that the way Beth looked at him and made him feel ten feet tall was a unique thing between them. 

No. Beth just brought out the best in everyone, apparently. 

* * *

Daryl watched them, carefully and closely the next few days. Everyone was so delighted at getting Beth back that it outweighed the horror of getting Merle back with her. He should be grateful for that, because it meant that Merle got to stay with minimal to no complaints. Even Glenn and Maggie accepted it, given that he was the whole reason why Beth was able to get back to them. Michonne spoke for him otherwise, saying that he’d let her go rather than turn her over to the Governor. Everyone brought Beth back into the fold and somehow, Merle was brought in with her. 

And Daryl hated it. 

He would never be mad that Beth was back and safe. No. Hell no. He was filled with relief every single time he looked over and caught a glimpse of her blonde hair swinging in the sunlight or when he heard her sweet little voice, laughing with Maggie or teasing Carl, singing to Judith or getting to know the new members of their team. 

But something in him ached. Because here, back with their family, it was not the same as their time in the woods. Daryl couldn't reach out and grab her. Couldn't teach her how to track or how to raise the crossbow up. Couldn't talk to her, struggling through the words but trusting her to be patient enough to let him get through it on his own time. Hell, he could barely look at her here, feeling both strangely possessive of her and well aware that he had no cause to feel that way whatsoever. 

Mostly he hated that he was stuck avoiding her and Merle wasn't. No. Merle did not avoid Beth Greene, was not unsure how to approach her, didn't feel awkward talking to her. In fact, Merle was always seeking Beth out. Walking alongside her, muttering things under his breath that earned him a smack from Beth that Merle just took with a laugh. Or sitting beside her at night by the fires, blessedly silent and surprisingly contemplative. And even when walkers came from the woods for them, Merle leapt in front of Beth to stab one while she got another, the two of them moving in weird parallels. 

The hot coal of jealousy sat uncomfortably in Daryl's chest. 

Nights were the worst. That was when he most acutely felt the shift in his relationship with Beth, that which he'd lost. Before, nighttime meant sitting side by side, shoulders brushing. Usually in silence, which was fine by Daryl. They didn't need to talk much anyways. Words were pointless. They didn't need them. 

But he wished he had them now, to tell Beth how much he missed her when she wasn't three feet away from him. 

He couldn't sleep. Never been great at it, not since he was a kid and that meant listening for his father's drunken footsteps to see if he was going to get a lashing. Certainly didn't get better at it when the whole world went to shit down around him. And now, when the people he loved most were hunkered down and asleep in the open, he never got beyond lightly dozing, primed and ready for an attack. 

There was no attack tonight. Just two quiet voices, voices he knew better than any others in the world. 

"Do you think he's mad at me?" Beth asked softly and Merle snorted. 

"Can anyone stay mad at you, Taylor Swift?" 

"Then why has he hardly talked to me, huh?" Beth pointed out and Daryl wondered who they were talking about. Rick, maybe? "I thought... I thought when I came back, it was going to be the same." 

"The same as what?" Merle demanded and Beth sighed. "You mean before? Dunno if you've noticed, darling, but things are always changing." 

"Don't be an ass, Merle." the way she said it, so blasé and resigned, Daryl got the idea that it'd been a common enough refrain. "I know things are different. I'm different. You're different too, even though you don't want to act like it. I guess... I'm just scared." 

She was scared? Of what? Daryl would fight it, kill it, burn it down to keep her from being scared. Use nothing but his bare hands if he had to. Because he didn't want her scared. He'd do anything to protect her. And he almost lifted his head off the ground to turn and demand she tell him, but then Merle spoke. 

"You didn't miss your chance. He's just an idiot is all." 

"Merle," Beth said sweetly, in the softest tone possible. "Remember what I said I'd do to you if you were mean about this?" 

Daryl tensed. Merle didn't take well to being threatened. And Daryl didn't take well to Beth being threatened. So he readied himself to jump up and fight Merle, take him on, but then a miracle happened. Merle _laughed._

"Yeah, I do. And I'll be good, don't you get your panties in a twist," he muttered and Daryl waited for Beth to be offended or annoyed. Instead she just gave a little huff, something almost near a chuckle. 

"I think I spent too much time thinking about this," she muttered after a long moment of quiet. "Building it up, in my head. Like it's some grand story, some big... Romance novel. And it ain't." 

"Why's that?" Merle questioned in an idle drawl, like he didn't much care. But Daryl knew that there was more there; could hear it in Merle's voice. 

"Cause I changed. I'm not innocent, not after what we had to do in the hospital. I'm not all good and light. And maybe that's what he wanted. What he needed. And I'm not that anymore." Beth sounded so sad and tired, so disheartened. 

"That's a load of shit," Merle scoffed. "You're the best person I know. Damn annoying, for fucking sure, but the best person I know. Going on about light and darkness like that fucking matters. Load of shit. No one is perfect, no one's gotta be. And you survived that place. Hell, you dragged me out of there. You remember that?" 

"Yeah." Beth almost sounded like she was smiling and Daryl felt something in his stomach curl, something hot and angry and dangerous. He wanted to punch his brother. He wanted to punch him for getting Beth's smiles, for acting like this was all normal. "But maybe I'm not the person he wants anymore. Maybe I don't deserve him." 

"Aw, quit your bitching," Merle remarked in an annoyed tone and Beth sighed heavily. "You're at fault too here, goldilocks." 

"How so?" Beth demanded, incensed and Daryl felt anger on her behalf because when the fuck was perfect Beth Greene ever to blame? 

"Ain't like you've been eager to start something," Merle told her firmly. "Been running round saying hi and hello to everybody or acting like my goddamn babysitter, but you're avoiding him. He probably likes _you're_ mad at _him."_

"Cause you need a damn babysitter," Beth reminded him sassily and Merle chuckled, harsh and rasping, but still a chuckle. 

"You can't wait for him to start this shit," he stated, his tone gentler than Daryl had ever heard it before. "And that ain't me being mean, so don't get a stick up your ass. That's me being honest. He's not like that. Never has been." 

Daryl wondered who the fuck they were talking about. 

"Yeah, I know," Beth grumbled. "He's the sweet one, your baby brother." 

"Yeah, and sweet on you," Merle muttered and Beth gave a little hum. 

"I hope so," she said softly and then there was silence. 

Daryl really wouldn't be getting any sleep tonight. 

* * *

"Merle seems... Improved," Carol reflected, looking at the man. She and Daryl were sitting on the hood of the car together, watching as the others boiled water to drink. 

"Yeah," Daryl muttered, avoiding looking towards his brother. Merle had been the one to bring up firewood and Beth had helped him light the fire, working together. That was the thing; when Beth was around, Merle was suddenly a team player. Suddenly pitched in, helped out, did more than just his part. And after what Daryl had heard last night, he wasn't sure what to make of it. 

He had thought there was maybe something going on between the two of them, an echo of what he'd thought had been going on with him and Beth after the prison fell. He'd been tangled up in knots over that, over the fact that whatever he'd felt for Beth she clearly hadn't felt back. But last night? 

Was it him Beth wanted? 

"Beth seems to be a real positive influence." Carol stayed on it, unwilling to relent as always. Daryl gave a little grunt, something stabbing in his heart. 

Merle was willing to change for Beth, a girl he'd known for all of a month, but not for the brother he spent his whole life with? Daryl understood it, he did, because Beth Greene was a powerful influence for good in his own life, but it still hurt just a little bit.

"Sure he'll fuck up soon enough, that's Merle's way," he muttered, watching as Beth filled a cup with the clean water and passed it to Merle without looking at him. 

"I don't think he will," Carol observed thoughtfully. "Not when he's got a reason to keep being good, to stay." 

"Yeah?" Daryl bristled, wondering if she saw the same thing he did, that there was something there between Beth and Merle. "Why's that?" 

"Cause you're here," Carol reminded him gently and Daryl glanced at her, brows furrowed. "What he did, back at the prison, with the Governor and Michonne? That was for you. To try and protect you, to try to give you the best possible shot at walking away safely from that mess. He sacrificed everything for you. And now he's come back, and he's trying to make it work. For you." 

Daryl blinked. That was not something he'd considered. He'd assumed it was for Beth, or for some self preservation instinct that knew being in a group was better than being alone, or for whatever stupid or twisted reason Merle did the things he did. But for him? When they hardly spoke, when Merle spent all his time beside Beth and Daryl hated him for it, because that was where he wanted to be? 

"Think so?" he asked Carol doubtfully and she snorted. 

"Know so," she answered. "Merle saw how you were changing. I think he wanted to change too and that's why he did what he did. And in his time away, at that hospital? With Beth? I think he's getting better." 

"Ain't for me," Daryl muttered, gnawing on the loose skin around his thumb. "Probably for Beth or something." 

"Oh, Daryl." Carol's voice was teasing but a little sad as well. "Sometimes, for such a smart guy, you're really stupid." 

"Hey," he said, affronted, as she slid down off the hood of the car. "Why's that, huh? Why's that!" 

Carol ignored him, taking the cup Beth passed her with a smile of thanks. 

* * *

"Hey," Daryl muttered lowly to Merle, as they paused yet again in their trek for safety and sanctuary. "C'mon, let's go hunt." 

"Alright then." Merle came easily, without protesting. That surprised Daryl; normally Merle was against anything that required him to expend effort. But instead, they slipped into the woods together, moving like they had when they were younger. Strange how quickly things came back. 

"So," Daryl said finally, once they'd made it through the trees and were tracking a rabbit. "You and Beth?" 

"What about me and Beth?" Merle asked with a smirk that made Daryl want to punch something. 

"Why'd you help her?" Daryl demanded and Merle rolled his eyes. "Ain't like you to just do something like that for nothing." 

"Didn't do it for nothing," Merle stated and Daryl growled, wondering what exactly Beth had to give to him. It made his blood boil. "Girl knew where you were, or at least close enough to. My best shot at getting back to you was with her. Reminded me all the damn time." 

"So you came back for me, huh?" Daryl squinted at him, trying to discern if Merle was lying. "That all?" 

"You ever heard of projection, Daryl?" Merle asked him languidly and Daryl growled, wondering where this was going to go. "Cause you're projecting." 

"The fuck's that mean?" Daryl demanded. 

"Means you're out here getting all mad at me cause there's someone else you don't want to be mad at," Merle retorted and Daryl grabbed him by his shirt, pushing him against a tree. 

"I don't trust you," he breathed. "And whatever the hell you're doing with Beth, it better fucking stop."

"Aw, here we go," Merle muttered, not bothering to fight him off. "You gonna be this stupid, Darylina? You gonna really make me be the one to tell you?"

"Tell me what?" Daryl twisted his fist tighter and Merle rolled his eyes.

"Grow a pair, baby brother," Merle told him with a slow, sly smile. "The girl's sweeter on you than cherry on pie. Course, you never been real good with the ladies, so I didn't expect you to figure it out. But even Little Miss Junior Georgia over there has her damn head stuck in the sand."

"What?" Daryl asked dumbly, his grip slackening somewhat. "Then how come she..." 

"How come she what?" Merle mocked him. "How come she broke out of a damn fortified hospital to come find you? How come she dragged me with her? How come she took down walkers to get back to you and even some humans too? How come she never shut the hell up about you? Always chatting my damn ear off about Daryl this and Daryl that, talking like you're some damn angel to her." 

"I..." Daryl trailed off, trying to make sense of Merle's words. 

"How come she risked everything to get back to you, huh?" Merle's tone had softened some. "How come she told me I could be a good man, how come she made me believe that? So that I'd bring her back to you. So that she could get back to you. So use those damn brains you got in that head of yours, moron."

The expression on Merle's face was foreign to Daryl. He'd never seen such a look there before; Merle could only snarl or sleaze, sneer or snark. Merle was not tender or kind. Merle was not capable of pity or whatever the hell this was. 

"She tell you all that?" Daryl asked him, at a loss to say anything else. Merle snickered, pushing Daryl away. 

"Yeah, she did. She's got a lot of lofty little ideas in her head. Makes her a damn fool." 

But Daryl didn't miss the genuine fondness there. 

* * *

"You're gonna share," Beth told Merle with absolute confidence. 

"I ain't," he replied, baring his teeth. "Git." 

Beth didn't move. Beth kept walking beside Merle with her hand out and her eyes ahead and an impassive look on her face. After a moment Merle growled at her and then broke off a piece of the chocolate bar, passing it to her with the darkest, most annoyed expression on his face. And Beth just smirked. 

"She's like the Dixon whisperer," Glenn muttered to Maggie, a few paces behind Daryl. "She makes Merle behave and can actually get more than two words out of Daryl. It's... Freaky." 

"That's Bethy," Maggie sighed. "Always had a real light touch. Taking in strays. Nursing them back to health. She could calm the most skittish horse into eating out of her hand." 

Is that what he and Merle were? Skittish horses? Strays? Outdoor cats, trying to be indoor cats? 

Merle was still brash and crude, but Beth seemed to temper the worst of it. All it took was a stern look from her or a little head shake and Merle would shut up. Abnormal, in Daryl's opinion. But maybe not, if Carol was right and Merle was trying to be better. Daryl knew Beth Greene could teach someone to be good. She'd been teaching him. Still was, in fact. 

It'd been working for Daryl. Reason stood to believe it would work for Merle too. 

Now he just had to figure out what the hell he was going to say to her. He didn't want to believe Merle, but he had some valid points. Beth had fought to get back to him, not knowing that he was with everyone else. She'd drug Merle with her too, for better or worse, whatever it meant. 

"Do you want some?" Beth had bounded back to him, eyes wide and innocent, offering him part of the candy car. Daryl watched her, still the little ball of sunshine she'd always been. 

"How'd you get him to share?" he asked her instead, taking the chocolate. Merle never shared. Merle was like a damn hoarder. 

"Asked nicely," Beth said, walking next to him. 

"Merle ain't nice," he mumbled. The chocolate was stale but it was still damn sweet. 

"Merle wants to be nice," Beth told him quietly. "He's been trying." 

"And you been helping?" he asked, pointedly. Beth shrugged, unbothered by the terse tone he had. 

"Just help show him the way sometimes is all," she stated quietly, watching Merle's back. "Tell him off when he's being shitty. Tell him he's doing good when he is. He's smarter than people give him credit for. And if you know his soft spots, you know how to make him behave." 

"Merle don't got soft spots," he warned her and Beth turned to look up at him, smiling in the sunshine. 

"Course he does," she replied. 

"Yeah, like what? You?" he demanded and Beth laughed, a happy noise. 

"Nah." she bumped his shoulder. "You." 

* * *

"I'm fine," Beth said, for the hundredth time, to everyone crowded around her. "I mean it. I'm okay." 

Daryl glanced over his shoulder at where the preacher lay sprawled in the dust, from where he'd been knocked out in one punch by Daryl. There'd been walkers coming through the trees and the man had panicked, pushing a walker away from himself and directly towards Beth while she was busy taking another one down. Daryl had panicked, in the middle of stopping his own walker, but then Merle had came out of nowhere and got the walker in the head before it could sink it's teeth into Beth. 

She might be fine, but Daryl was still pissed as hell, and judging from the looks on everyone's faces, he was not the only one. Maggie was blanched pale, Carl was shaking, Rick had that crazy gleam in his eye and Merle... Well, Daryl suddenly felt a little relieved that he'd been first to Father Gabriel, judging from the look on Merle's face. 

"Are you sure you're not bit?" Maggie pulled aside Beth's shirt, looking over her shoulders and neck. "Scratched? Nothing?" 

"Nothing," Beth promised, letting Maggie work. "I'm fine, Merle got it. I'm fine Maggie, I promise." 

"Thank god," Glenn muttered and Daryl didn't think it was god at all but dumb luck and Merle's quick reflexes. He'd be thankful for that though. 

"I'm fine," Beth told Maggie one last time and Maggie pulled her in for a hug. Beth returned it, then gently untangled herself from her sister and went to hug Merle. He looked supremely uncomfortable with it and that, more than anything, settled Daryl's jealous nature. He knew when Merle was trying to cop a feel. This wasn't that. 

Beth released Merle and then to everyone’s shock, Maggie was next to throw her arms around Merle’s neck. He looked properly uncomfortable then, not even embracing her like he’d at least done with Beth. He just stood rigid until Maggie let him go, pulling back and giving him a nod, voice still trembling a little bit. “Thank you for saving my sister.” 

“Yeah, yeah, alright,” he muttered, cheeks red. “Don’t go awarding me no purple heart or anything.” 

“What do we do with this asshole?” Daryl demanded, toeing Father Gabriel to flip him over to distract himself from the look on Merle's face and the fact that he could still see the walker falling on Beth, over and over again in his head. 

“He’s out cold,” Rick remarked and Tara and Rosita knelt, loosening the caps of water bottles. Daryl stalked away, unsure that if he remained nearby when the man woke back up that he wouldn’t hit him all over again. He went off towards the river and stood watching the water flow. Someone was coming up behind him, but he didn’t turn. Judging for the lightness of the steps, it was a small figure. And judging from the fact that whoever it was wasn’t making a whole lot of noise like they'd been taught to move in a forest, Daryl’s guess would be Beth. 

“You okay?” asked a small, quiet voice and yeah. Beth. 

“Yeah,” he muttered, avoiding looking back at her. “Just pissed off.” 

“Why?” she asked, taking a few steps towards him until he knew she was close enough to touch. He turned to give her an incredulous look. How could she be asking that? Wasn’t it painfully obvious? 

“You miss that whole thing back there? Where you nearly died?” he pointed out harshly and Beth didn’t blink in the face of his temper. 

“I told you guys, I’m fine.” 

“Yeah, but how long till you ain’t!” he yelled, finger flying up and into her face, looming over her. Beth stared up at him, not giving an inch of ground. “Huh? How long till you’re in real trouble?” 

“I’ve been in trouble before, Daryl,” she said cooly. “Be in trouble again, probably. But I told you. I’m not just some dead girl. I lived. I _live.”_

“But what if you don’t?” he demanded, anguished. “What if I lose you again, huh? What happens then, Beth? You think I can handle that? You think I can do that again? If you ain’t coming back?” 

“Daryl.” Beth’s hands came up to catch his face; she managed to snag his chin and pull it down to face her straight on. “I’m not dead. I’m fine. I’m fine.” 

“Yeah, cause Merle saved you,” he reminded her flatly. “Cause Merle’s the one who keeps you safe. Merle’s the one who got you out, got you back here, saved your life. Me? I didn’t do shit for you. I got you taken, I couldn’t protect you. Merle could. Merle did!” 

“Yeah, but I don’t love Merle!” she cried and he went still. “I didn’t spend every night crying over Merle. I didn’t spend every second dreaming about how to get back to him. I didn’t fall in love with Merle, I fell in love with you, you jackass!” 

Daryl had no idea what to say. He just stared at her blankly, unable to process the idea of anything she said being true. How could it be? How could she love him — him? Daryl Dixon? But she just stood in front of him, watching him, like she wasn’t surprised by his silence. Maybe she wasn’t. Maybe she knew exactly what he was thinking, the fact that he was struck dumb by her. Maybe she just knew him, heart and soul.

“You don’t… You don’t…” he said haltingly. “Nah. Nah.” 

“I love you.” tears were sliding down Beth’s cheeks. “I love you. That’s what I told Merle, back in the hospital. That’s what I told him, to convince him to break me out and come find you. I told him the truth, I told him I was in love with you and that I could go by myself and probably die, or we could go together and he might have a chance at seeing his brother happy. I did whatever I had to do, to get back to you. Because I love you.” 

“Nah.” he shook his head. “I don’t… I can’t… Merle, he…” 

“I don’t want Merle.” Beth’s tone didn’t waver in the slightest. “I don’t want Merle. And Merle doesn’t want me, trust me. He agreed to help me because of you. And everything he does for me, it’s because of you. Because he knows how much I love you. And… He thinks you love me back. He thinks we can be good for each other.” 

“He said that?” he asked her in disbelief and Beth shrugged. 

“Merle never shuts the hell up. It’s just easier to listen on a subject you actually care about. Once I got him started on you, it wasn’t so bad.” she gave him a slow, tentative smile. “We have a lot in common on the subject, you know.” 

“But you two…” 

“Not like that.” Beth shook her head. “Never was. He… He’s a lot like you, Daryl, but he’s not you. He wasn't looking for faith or for redemption. He was just looking for you. I told him that if we found you again, he couldn’t be who he was. He would have to change. And he had been, since the hospital. I just… Well, I told him the same thing I told you. Put it away. And I’m glad, because he’s your brother and he loves you. But I love you. And not Merle.” her nose wrinkled at the thought of it. 

“You… Love me?” he asked her dumbly and her hand finally moved from his chin to his cheek, slowly and gently. 

“Would’ve ran through a million walkers to get back to you,” she stated simply. “Would’ve dragged Merle through them all too.” 

He didn’t have words. Never did, with this girl. He could only look at her quietly, and then decided that for once in his life, he wasn’t going to fuck things up. He wasn’t going to overthink it and get lost in his head and wallow in his self hatred and grief. Beth was here. Beth was okay. Beth was alive and he didn’t know how much longer he could keep her that way but he’d lost her once. He would never do it again, given the chance. 

He kissed her. Clumsily pressing his lips to hers and snaking his hands into her hair, he kissed her and Beth pressed up onto her tippy toes so that she could reach him. And she was everything he dreamed of and more, sweeter and brighter and lovelier than anything. She was perfect. She was everything. And he kissed her like he couldn’t get enough. 

When they walked back to the group, Beth clung tightly to his hand. And Daryl didn’t let go, not even when Merle gave a braying laugh and Maggie’s eyes went wide. 

* * *

“So what was it?” Daryl demanded, sitting with Beth leaning against his chest and Judith on her lap and Merle across the fire from them. Everyone else was asleep; Merle was up to take watch, Beth was up because Judith was, and Daryl was up because Beth and Judith were. 

“What was what?” Merle demanded, as Beth hummed a little tune and patted Judith’s back gently. 

“That one night. I heard you,” Daryl explained. “Beth said she’s do something to you if you were an ass about me. About us.” 

“That.” Beth chuckled and he looked at her while Merle groaned quietly. 

“Don’t do it, Rainbow Glitter Princess,” Merle warned but Beth didn’t heed him. Beth never did. 

“Daryl,” she said sweetly, “did you know your brother is ticklish?” 

“What?” the only reason Daryl managed to keep his voice down was that everyone else was sleeping and if they all woke up, he’d feel uncomfortable being this open in his affection for Beth. But it was just Merle and Judith, and neither of them seemed to mind. 

“On his neck,” Beth stated, like it was common knowledge. 

“Not ticklish,” Merle corrected, “sensitive.” 

“Ticklish,” Beth said firmly. “So whenever I want him to do something or not do something, I just have to threaten to tickle him.” 

“It ain’t natural,” Merle complained. “Speedy little fingers, stabbing and pecking like a damn bird.” 

“Piano fingers.” Beth smiled, stretching them out and then wrapping them around Daryl’s hand with a wink. He gently rested his chin on top of her head; kissing her in front of Merle would be way too much, but this was nice. 

“Annoying little brat,” Merle muttered and Beth gave him a bright and sunny smile, never one to be bowed by any of the Dixon tempers.

Daryl had no idea how she did it. Hell, he had no idea why she did it. Dealing with him, as grumpy and crotchety as he was, that was one thing. For her troubles there, she was rewarded with his inexperienced kisses, his occasional sweet word, and body heat beside her at night. But putting up with Merle? That didn’t give her anything, except Merle’s smart mouth and a plethora of insults. 

She was a saint probably. A damn angel. 

“I think someone is actually asleep,” Beth whispered, when Judith finally stopped muttering and whimpering. “C’mon, let’s go lay down by her before she wakes up again.” 

“G’on,” Merle ordered when Daryl caught his eye. “Abraham’s got next. Sleep.” 

Daryl knew to take him at face value. He helped Beth up, got them back to their little spot of camp and laid down with her, Judith between them and their legs tangled together. Beth pressed their foreheads together, smiling and closing her eyes as her breath slowly evened out. He stretched to press his lips to her forehead and then closed his own eyes. 

He never thought there’d be a world where getting Beth back meant getting Merle back too. 

Never thought there’d be a world where Beth made his brother a better person. 

Never thought there’d be a world where Beth loved him. 

But that was his world, now. 

And he loved it. 

**Author's Note:**

> i just love daryl dixon so much and i want him to be happy and i want merle willing to do anything to give daryl happiness because he doesn't think he's worthy of it but he knows daryl is 
> 
> and happiness is beth greene folks
> 
> anyways catch me out here loving my dixon boys till the end of time


End file.
